12-Year-Old Girl Shoots Home Intruder!

For 12-year-olds, getting a day off from school for fall break is like a dream come true. But for one preteen girl of Bryan County, Oklahoma, that mini-vacation almost turned into a nightmare.

According to KTEN news, a 12-year-old girl was home alone when a man she didn’t recognize knocked on the door. She wisely chose not to answer, but the man, Stacy Jones of Texarkana, Texas, took matters into his own hands. He went around to the back of the house and kicked in the door. The girl, whose name has not been released, did what any kid would do: she ran and hid in a closet. Instead of grabbing a stuffed animal for comfort, though, she grabbed a cell phone and a .40-caliber Glock.

The girl warned the police about the intruder, who was methodically picking his way through the house towards the bathroom closet where she was hiding. It was like a scene from a horror movie – the girl remembers seeing the door knob move.

But that was as far as the intruder would get. The girl fired the weapon through the door, striking Jones in the shoulder. The man wisely fled, but he was picked up by police and taken by helicopter to a hospital. He is expected to survive. No charges have been filed, but that’s sure to change.

According to Calera Police Chief Don Hyde, Jones admitted to breaking into the home and was just trying to obtain food. If that’s true, then what on Earth was he doing in the bathroom closet?

Well, whether he was there to steal a sandwich or for more nefarious purposes, this 12-year-old girl is incredibly lucky. It’s horrifying to think what could have happened if she hadn’t had access to a gun, or if she didn’t have the general knowledge of how to fire one. Can you imagine what would have happened if Jones had opened the door to a frightened little girl clicking away at an unchambered gun with the safety on?

We’re a little bit torn about the story. On the one hand, it’s great that the family maintains a safe household where even the youngest members of the family know their way around a firearm. On the other hand, though, what was a 12-year-old girl doing home alone? This girl is obviously sharp and tough enough to handle dangerous situations, but we know that quite a few parents out there would tsk in disapproval at the thought of leaving a preteen girl alone at home.